Building your business up

Q&A with Randstad Recruitment New Zealand.

Growth sits right at the top of almost every business owner's list. So, in part three of our series with senior recruitment specialists at Randstad, we dig a little deeper into the smartest strategies for business development and workforce planning.

Topic 3: Long term growth

Q - How has technology impacted the HR and recruitment world?A - It's certainly an interesting time for us. Innovative start-ups are constantly developing new ways to connect with people digitally, giving rise to new technologies like:

Social and professional networking sites like LinkedIn

E-lancing websites and electronic freelancing

Talent screening websites like Webly

Piemetrics - neuroscience to help people decide on career paths.

Q - Have there been developments in customer experience?A - The customer is key in every industry and recruitment is no different. We've found from our research that 64% of candidates who have a bad recruitment experience won't use that brand or service again. That creates a conundrum for organisations with a strong employer brand as, naturally, they have to reject a lot of applications. To offset this, we've seen more and more organisations showing a real commitment to connecting with people in an open and honest way.

Q - In general, how are New Zealand's SMEs performing?A - Research by MBIE has shown there have been more small business 'births' than 'deaths' in the last 10 years, so more often than not, they're finding ways to be successful, which is promising. I think this is partly down to greater connection and collaboration opportunities between businesses, like the Airpoints™ for Business programme that enables like-minded individuals to share information and grow and prosper together.

Q - What strengths do you see in NZ's business leaders?A - The thing that impresses us about NZ is that Kiwi business leaders are very interested in seeing others prosper and grow. We love that about NZ and it means more SMEs are keen to share ideas. We're even seeing large businesses reaching out to SMEs, wanting to be more flexible, more agile and looking for ways to accelerate innovation.

Q - How can Randstad help SMEs?A - Lots of small businesses are started by close friends or former colleagues and when they build momentum and attract investors, all of a sudden they need to hire 10 to 20 staff members. This is where our workforce planning skills come to the fore. We help SME owners think about working conditions, contracts and alternative employment models. For example, staff on temporary contracts often become part of the furniture, which is expensive and dangerous given the access to IP they have. When working with SMEs, our goal is to be a true partner, someone to help support and grow the business.

Q - Do you adapt your business strategy to cater for SMEs?A - You can't underestimate the skill and agility with which an SME moves. So, we need to think and breathe like one and that's why we have dedicated SME consultants, focused entirely on understanding the unique demands of SMEs.

We're a talent source, not a recruitment agency. We're not just about finding staff, we want to be a partner on the journey, helping with acquisition and growth strategies, including:

HR strategy

Talent retention

Workforce planning

Psychometric assessments

Team development

Temporary, contract and permanent staff

Plus SMEs can earn Airpoints Dollars™ through us too.

More from Randstad:

Read 'Topic 1: Attracting talent', a Q&A with Brien Keegan (CEO of Randstad Recruitment NZ), where he discusses how to attract and retain talent in your business.

Read 'Topic 2: Retaining staff', where senior recruitment specialists at Randstad share what engages and motivates the staff that make your business what it is.